  | Round of robins Author: Hesterman, Katie | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Follow a pair of robin parents from nest-building and egg-laying, to raising their hungry hatchlings, and finally sending off their flying fledglings.
| Illustrator: | Ruzzier, Sergio |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 2.90 Points: .5 Quiz: 194711 |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 03/15/2018 With colorful, cartoon art and playful rhymes, these 16 poems present various stages of a robin’s life. Opening with a robin couple staking out a tree in “Turf Tune” (“Defender Dad sings, ‘Back away, / Cause Mom and I are here to stay!’” to disgruntled birds below), the book’s subsequent spreads showcase Mama’s nest-building (“Bits of twig, string, wool, and hair / To form a tiny, twiney lair”) and the number of eggs laid, and then progresses through their hatching, feeding, and eventual flying away. However, soon after, “Dad retweets his tough turf tune.” Watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations depict the expressive robins along with other birds, insects, and a rabbit, all in a sparse, vaguely Seussian landscape. Periodic sound-effect asides enliven the text, although some rhymes can feel forced, and occasional wordplay, such as “empty nesters,” or metaphors (“A heater hides on Mama’s chest . . . sensors set at incubake”) might soar over the heads of younger readers. Still, the read-aloud friendly text and classroom-friendly subject matter make this a nice choice for a springtime story hour. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2018 PreS-Gr 1—Beginning with the first poem that proclaims (with some foreshadowing) "We'll raise a brood, and when we're done,/We just might hatch another one," 16 poems give readers a glimpse of stages in a robin's life, from mama robin laying four eggs to grown up birdies leaving the nest. Hesterman fills her jaunty rhyming verses with numerous puns and alliterations, while conjuring up sweet yet mostly factual vignettes of the birds' journey to maturity. Ruzzier's cartoon illustrations capture these scenes of avian domesticity with just the right mix of humor and warmth, hilariously expressive feathered protagonists (and their grumpy neighbors) inhabiting his slightly fantastical idiosyncratic flora, all colored in ethereal watercolor washes. VERDICT An utterly charming choice for most collections, perfect for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
